Do students learn from video lessons presented by pedagogical agents of different racial and gender types equivalently to those delivered by a real human instructor? How do the race and gender of these agents impact students' learning experiences and outcomes? In this between-subject design study, college students were randomly assigned to view a…

Higher educational institutions often train their faculty on assessment, course development, diversity, equity, inclusion, online teaching, work-life balance, research, and more via faculty development offerings such as programs, workshops, etc. Research shows that faculty development programming helps improve the student learning experience,…

Dweck and her colleagues (Diener & Dweck, 1978, 1980; Dweck, 1975, 2006; Dweck & Blackwell, 2021; Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Dweck & Reppucci, 1973), have conducted decades of research on growth mindset, specifically related to results indicating a significant positive relationship between student growth mindset and achievement. What…

This paper provides a detailed account of the development of an instrument to investigate the emerging concept of presence in teaching (PiT) on a larger scale, explaining how the transition from data and findings from qualitative studies to a survey instrument was accomplished. In order to ensure relevance for teachers, the instrument needed to do…

Teacher empathy is important in reducing students' aggressive behavior, strengthening interpersonal cooperation, and promoting prosocial behavior. Previous research has shown that empathy could be predicted by a teacher's professional identity, but little is known about the moderating factors affecting the relationship between professional…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which human resources documents which focus on recruiting, hiring, and onboarding include information about teacher traits that influence positive relationships with students. When the teacher-student relationship is positive, students improve their behaviors, work diligently to meet their…

Current research provides little insight into educators' attitudes toward multiracial learners. This lack of insight may impede the unique needs of multiracial learners, universal planning, and professional attitudes of educators. This survey design study addressed that problem by analyzing educators' attitudes in Michigan charter schools. Rooted…

Experimental evidence of the effects of teacher characteristics and teacher-student relationships on student performance is limited and even more scarce in education contexts outside of the United States. In this dissertation, I implement quasi-experimental research designs in two separate studies to investigate teacher-characteristic effects and…

The purpose of this narrative inquiry study was to explore how intersecting discourses of race, attractional orientation, and gender expression have influenced Rashaad Calaham's experiences as a Black, openly gay, gender-fluid middle school choir director. Rather than hiding his attractional orientation and gender expression, he leans into these…

Global concerns about low levels of teacher job satisfaction (JS) have brought the significance of understanding factors and mechanisms that contribute to this issue. In educational research, the role of emotional intelligence (EI), a critical personal resource, in relation to teachers' JS has emerged as an important topic. Utilizing the Job…

Compassion satisfaction (CS) and compassion fatigue (CF) are well-documented phenomena within healthcare, representing the positive emotions derived from aiding others and the emotional strain of caring for those in distress (Figley, 1995; Stamm, 2010). This research addresses a gap literature regarding CS and CF in higher education, particularly…

In many teacher expectation studies, it is suggested that teachers can overcome expectation bias through enhanced "awareness." In this exploratory paper, I extrapolate and map the conceptual demarcations of 'teacher awareness' based on a thematic analysis of twenty-six teacher expectation studies identified in a systematic literature…

Empathy is recognized as the ability to relate emotionally to an experience or another person's emotions. Evidence supports the notion that students learn better and have greater positive perceptions when instructors display empathetic values and seek more meaningful relationships with their students. The purpose of this study was to assess…

Attitudes lead to actions. Therefore, teachers' attitudes affect the learning opportunities and experiences of all students in their classroom. The misunderstandings surrounding giftedness affects these attitudes of teachers. This cross-sectional, descriptive, non-experimental study described and explored educators' attitudes towards students…

The quality of teacher-student relationships (TSRs) has been shown to predict various academic and social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes for adolescent students and is also one of the most important aspects of teacher wellbeing. Therefore, measures of TSRs are essential for schools as they provide insight into the quality of these…